Ford City Memorial Park
Park
4 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot
Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Ford City
17% of Ford City’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park
Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 17% of Ford City’s land is conserved, about 68 acres. 0.7 miles of mapped trail cross Ford City, 1.1 per square mile of land.
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns · #49 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. What drives it
Conserved land
17%
68 acres · of 0.6 sq mi of land
Trails
0.7 mi
1.1 per sq mi of land
Park land
69 ac
24 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
2.3 mi
2.3 mi paths
What kind of outdoors town is Ford City?
Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.
Outdoors grade
How much outdoors does Ford City have?
On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Ford City is ahead of 96% of U.S. towns, #49 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; the share of residents near a park ranks highest, park acres per resident lowest.
A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Ford City’s overall grade.
Conserved land17% of the land · typical PA town 8% · U.S. 4%ATrails1.1 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (1 mi) · PA 0.4 · U.S. 0.4A−Park land24 acres of park per 1,000 residents (69 acres) · PA 14 · U.S. 13B+Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · PA 73% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Ahead of 96%
LessMore
Pennsylvania towns of 2,500+ (1,037)Ahead of 95%
Pennsylvania towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 8%; the U.S., 4%), so Ford City’s 17% is ahead of 75% of Pennsylvania towns, while its trails per square mile lead 80% of them.
Water is 15% of Ford City’s area (0 of 1 square miles), so every share here is of land; over land and water together, the conserved share would read 14%.
NoteFew parks or trails are mapped in Ford City. OpenStreetMap is mapped by volunteers and coverage varies from town to town, so a town with unmapped parks scores low on them.
How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would range from A to A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.
PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →
The map
Conserved land, trails & bike routes
Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk
Pick a walk
The longest trail network is Ford City Memorial Park, with 0.3 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.
Who protects it
68 conserved acres
17% of Ford City’s land. Water is left out: Ford City has 0.6 square miles of land and 0.1 of water, so the share counts land only. Who manages Ford City’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.
Other or Unknown Local Government52 ac
Not recorded17 ac
Local Park · 56 acPrivate Recreation or Education · 12 acLocal Recreation Area · 1 ac
Good to know
Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors. Public access isn’t recorded for 3 of 10 parcels. The walks above are places people visit.
The biggest protected parcels
| Parcel (PAD-US) | Managed by | Acres | Public access |
|---|---|---|---|
| Riverfront Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 45 | Open |
| Armstrong Trail Private Recreation or Education | Not recorded | 12 | Open |
| Boulder Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| Ford City Memorial Park Local Park | Other or Unknown Local Government | 4 | Open |
| 7th Avenue Playground Local Recreation Area | Other or Unknown Local Government | 1 | Open |
| Seventh Avenue Playground Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
| Ford City Park Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Unknown |
| Ford City Playground Local Park | Not recorded | 1 | Open |
Things to do
3 places to go in Ford City
Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.
Playgrounds in Ford City
1 playground without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see it.
Scenic views in Ford City
2 scenic views without a name on the map. Tap “Show all on map” to see them.
Trails & water
1 named trail
Named trails
Ford City Riverfront Trail0.3 mi
Biking & sports
2.3 miles of bike routes
Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.
2.3 mi
off-road bike paths
Ford City Riverfront TrailBike route
0.3 miCourts & fields
1Basketball
1Baseball
1Soccer
Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.
History along the way
History →1 place on the National Register
The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 2 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.
Ford City ArmoryBuilding · listed 1989
About itWhen to get out
The best walking months in Ford City: April, May and September
NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daylight (h) | 9.6 | 10.6 | 11.8 | 13.2 | 14.4 | 15.1 | 14.8 | 13.8 | 12.4 | 11.0 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| High (°F) | 36 | 40 | 49 | 63 | 73 | 81 | 84 | 83 | 76 | 64 | 52 | 41 |
| Rain (in) | 3.2 | 2.6 | 3.3 | 3.7 | 4.0 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.2 |
February is the driest month (2.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 84 °F). 4.7 inches fall in June, the wettest month. The climate in Ford City →
Next door
Ford City and its neighbors
Ford City has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.
| Town | Conserved of land | Trail mi per sq mi | Park acres per 1,000 | Near a park ½ mile | Outdoors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ford City | 17% | 1.1 | 24 | 99%+ | A+ |
| Manor Township | 3% | 0.2 | 83 | 56% | B |
| North Buffalo Township | 4% | under 0.1 | 64 | 12% | C+ |
The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.
Questions about parks and trails in Ford City
Where can I hike in Ford City?
The longest trail networks: Ford City Memorial Park, 0.3 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.
How much of Ford City is conserved land?
17% of its land, against a typical 8% for a Pennsylvania town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.
Are dogs allowed on Ford City’s trails?
Ford City Memorial Park doesn’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.
Where can I bike in Ford City?
2.3 miles of bike routes are on the map: 2.3 of off-road paths. Named routes: Ford City Riverfront Trail.
Is there public land near Ford City?
3,559 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Ford City or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 69 of them inside the town line.
How much outdoors does Ford City have?
Ahead of 96% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #49 of 1,037 in Pennsylvania. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
Trail talk
Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Ford City neighbors.
Share a tip
Sources
Where this page comes from
Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →